OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 639, 4 June 1996, Page 10

OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

The following cases were heard by Judge Richard Watson in the Ohakune District Court last Thursday. Senior-sergeant Ross Bielby appeared for the prosecution. Jailed for 1 6 months Adrian Michael Brown, 19, unemployed of Wanganui appeared on 14 charges including dangerous driving (x2), careless driving, failing to stop, contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Act, failure to answer bail and breach of periodic detention (x2). Details of some of these offences were read out in Court last Thursday (others have already been published in the Bulletin). They include: 21 August: defendant took a vehicle from Marton and after a high-speed chase on SH3 he crashed near Turakina and ran off. He was found later hiding in a woolshed. 15 December: defendant was seen by police to be . driving a vehicle in King Street, Raetihi at 4.30pm while disqualified. He was pursued by police at speed and crossed the centre line several times before stopping in Duncan Street and running away. 29 March: defendant was seen driving a Ford Cortina in Valley Road at about 5.30pm. When he saw the police vehicle he did a U-turn and accelerated at high speed towards Raetihi. He was followed by the police vehicle with lights flashing and siren sounding. In Raetihi he failed to slow at intersections and was seen to skid for distances of up to 35 and 40m. At times he was driving in the wrong lane. He finally came to a stop in Ballance Street and ran off. He was arrested and handcuffed but ran off again. He was arrested six days later (on 4 April) at his parent's home. The handcuffs had been cut off and discarded. 28 April: defendant broke into a house at 2.30am and took a television, a VCR and stereo and shoes. Through his counsel, Paul Brown, Brown said he believed he was entitled to take the items because the complainant owed him money. In imposing a 16-month jail sentence, Judge Watson told Brown that some of the terms would be concurrent while others would be accumulative and they would range from a minimum of one month to a maximum of four months. He was disqualified from driving for 18 months. Brown had pleaded guilty to all the above charges but on a charge of behaving in a disorderly manner likely to cause violence he entered a not guilty plea and will appear in the Ohakune District Court on 25 July for a defended hearing. Remanded in custody Joseph Hohepa Mallinson, 25, unemployed of Ohakune, appeared on several charges including unlawful possession of a pistol, presenting a firearm (a shotgun) outside the Ohakune District Court last Court day (2 May); dangerous driving in Miro Street, Ohakune, on 16 April, possession of cannabis and assault outside the court last Thursday morning. He was remanded in custody to appear in the Wanganui District Court on 4 June. Defended hearing Gene Henare, 22, bushman of Raetihi, was remanded in custody after appearing in court with a sharpened screwdri ver to answer charges of acting in a threatening manner, behaving in a disorderly manner likely to cause violence and resisting police. Asked by Judge Watson why he had brought the screwdriver (which had been seen by Consta-

ble Ngatai when it fell out of defendant' s pocket) into Court. Henare said it was to open the boot of his car. He was remanded in custody to appear for a defended hearing on 25 July. "Gender neutral offence" Katrina Marie Arahanga, 23, solo parent of Rotorua, appeared for sentence after pleading guilty to charges of driving while disqualified and drink driving at last month' s court sitting. She had been remanded for a probation officers' report and sentence. Through her counsel, Eric Forster, court heard how Arahanga had taken over driving a vehicle between Edgecume and Whakatane when the original driver had twice fallen asleep at the wheel and caused some damage to the car. She was stopped by police after driving three to four kms and was breath tested resulting in a reading of 732: 1 . In handing down a sentence of six months periodic detention Judge Watson reminded defendant that she had already received four convictions for drink-driving and driving while disqualified and, while a custodial sentence would have been appropriate, he was reluctant to impose a prison term on a young mother with two children to care . for. "I am reluctant to remove you from your family for that reason but I remind you that drink-driving is a gender neutral offence and whether a drunk driver was male or female the same amount of damage and injury can be caused." ' She was also disqualified for six months from the expiry of her current disqualification in January 1997 and given a final warning. On a charge of breach of bail she was convicted and discharged. Appeared for sentence Michael Hugh Gordon, 43, of Raetihi, appeared for sentence on a charge of common assault causing injury to which he had pleaded guilty last month. Court heard how Gordon had assaulted Ohakune Hotel's bar manager Maxwell Charles Hodder on 4 December last year when he was refused a third bottle of beer because he would not remove his children from the bar. In convicting and fining Gordon $100, court costs $95, Judge Watson said he was aware that there were some background events to this charge which he hadn't been able to identify. However Gordon 's contribution towards the community, particularly in relation to sport, must also be taken into account. Same female victim George Pekamu, 28, unemployed of Ohakune, pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a female on 17 May. Court heard how the complainant had tried to help Pekamu find $40 which he had lost after visiting the Ohakune Hotel but when she said she wanted to go home he had prevented her. There was a struggle during which the complainant received a blow to the cheek resulting in bruising. According to defence counsel, Eric Forster, this had been caused by his client's elbow during the struggle. In handing down sentence Judge Watson noted that this was yet another charge of assault against the same female

I complainant over anumber of years. Pekamu was convicted and sentenced to 1 00 hours community service. Further remand Richard Samuel Toko, 24, logline operator of Waiouru, was again remanded for a defended hearing on one charge of driving while disqualified and one charge of driving with excess breath alcohol. He had been remanded from last month but his counsel, Eric Forster, requested a further remand to 27 June. Drink driving charge Clyde William Selwyn Rennie, 24, unemployed of Rangataua, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol (796:1) in Clyde Street, Ohakune, at 1 1 .45pm on 1 8 May. He was convicted and sentenced to 90 hours' community service and disqualified from driving for seven months. Outstanding fines were remitted as part of the community service sentence. (Defended cases next week).